Russian Hydrometeorological Center

Bolshoy Predtechensky Lane, 11-13

Unknown author

Two horizontal wall sections of the brick building of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia are decorated with relief and mosaic on the most popular theme of the 1960s — Space. On one panel, a flying cosmonaut holds a green plant branch in his hand; on the other, three men in spacesuits greet a fourth. Both compositions combine smalt, ceramic tiles of various sizes, and tile fragments in their tessellated technique. Certain parts of the faces and the figures’ hands, as well as the sun and a star, are left in exposed cement, adding a sense of lifelike quality to these somewhat surreal and decorative works, whose author remains unknown.